A teenager jailed for the murder of a Queensland mother after breaking into her home north of Brisbane on Boxing Day had never spent a day in custody, despite having a whopping 84 convictions since he was 15. name had.
North Lakes woman Emma Lovell was stabbed to death outside her home after the teenager, then 17, entered through the unlocked door before trying to escape a struggle with the mother-of-two and her husband Lee on the night of Boxing Day in 2022. .
In the ensuing scuffle, Ms Lovell suffered a fatal stab wound to the heart, while Mr Lovell was also stabbed in the back and kicked in the face.
That teenager, who has since spent 19 years in custody, was sentenced to 14 years in prison on Monday for Ms Lovell’s murder.
It can be revealed that this is his first spell in custody, despite accumulating convictions over a 2.5 year period leading up to the North Lakes massacre.
Emma Lovell was stabbed to death outside her home by a teenager armed with a knife on Boxing Day 2022
In sentencing remarks published by the Queensland Supreme Court earlier this week, Justice Tom Sullivan said the teenager had been convicted of 84 offenses related to burglaries or attempted burglaries of homes or cars.
The first was committed in May 2020, when the teenager was just 15.
Sixteen of these involved unlawful access or attempted access to properties, two of which related to homes where the families were still living.
“On one occasion you were confronted by an owner and you fled,” Judge Sullivan said.
‘Another time you were confronted with a dog in the house.
“Usually the purpose of your unlawful entry was to obtain car keys so that you could use cars that would then be stolen.”
Eleven offenses on the teen’s criminal record involved unlawfully entering or using vehicles.
Despite the staggering number of applications, he was never taken into custody, but was sentenced to three to nine months’ probation.
Judge Sullivan said these probationary periods involved weekly meetings with a juvenile justice officer, lasting 45 minutes to an hour.
The Lovells confronted the teenager and his alleged accomplice in their home – the brawl spilled over into the front garden where Mrs Lovell was fatally stabbed
“(You would) participate in a module-based program known as Changing Habits and Reaching Targets,” Judge Sullivan said.
“This was a research-based program designed to directly address your property violations with the goal of reducing your future violations.”
The teenager was on such probation when he killed Ms Lovell.
Judge Sullivan found the attack on the Lovells was a “particularly heinous” offense, allowing him to jail the child for longer than the maximum 10-year sentence that can be imposed under Queensland’s Youth Justice Act.
Prosecutors had previously pushed for this because the teen was on probation and had arrived at the Lovells’ home armed with a 4-inch knife.
“It is appropriate to describe the crime in this case as heinous and one that would cause a sense of outrage in the general community,” Judge Sullivan said.
During Monday’s sentencing, the court was told the teenager had been on the job for three days when he broke into the Lovells’ home on the night of December 26, 2022.
CCTV footage captured the teenager checking the front door at 11.27pm, giving a thumbs up to his alleged accomplice before stepping out of frame and returning armed with the knife.
The teenager who killed Ms Lovell, pictured with her husband Lee, had never spent a day in custody despite being convicted of 84 offenses in the previous years.
The Lovells woke up to the barking of their dogs and confronted the teen and his alleged accomplice inside.
“The Lovells started yelling and cursing at both of you to get out, and they pushed you … out the front door,” Judge Sullivan said.
During the fight, which broke out on the front lawn, the teenager inflicted the fatal stab wound on Mrs Lovell.
The police found him in a home, hiding under a blanket in a bedroom.
Judge Sullivan said the teenager lied about having slept from 9pm that night, telling police: ‘My aunt lives in Zillmere. Just call her, I have a damn alibi from nine o’clock until now.’
While being held outside the home, the teen laughed.
In sentencing him to 14 years in prison, Judge Sullivan took into account his prior record, including the teen’s exposure to violence and substance abuse.
The court was told the teenager lost his grandmother – considered the ‘most positive and important person’ in his life at the time – and at the same time lost a stepbrother to suicide.
After this, he began abusing drugs and alcohol and inhaling glue.
He had also expressed his “sadness at the legacy of this crime”; However, the court was told the teenager still attributed his offending to his substance abuse and the physical struggle.
“This demonstrates, at least to some extent, that you are unwilling to face the consequences of your own actions,” Judge Sullivan said.
With time already served, the teen will have to serve nine years and 292 days in prison, or 70 percent of the sentence.
His co-accused, who has yet to enter a plea, still has his case in court.
After the sentencing, Lovell said he didn’t feel justice had been served “one bit.”
“I think it was good to get 14 years,” he told reporters.
“But it will never be enough, it will never bring (Emma) back.”